Friday, March 2, 2012

Finished on Friday!

Today I put the finishing touches on this dress. It is the first of hopefully many dresses for my daughter for this summer. I LOVE making her dresses. However because she is a growing child I have to adjust the master bodice block every year and that comes with it's share of issues. I always make my own dress patterns for her and crazy as it sounds, I like it when the dresses I make actually fit her. Yes, it's sometimes nice to have tops on the big side so that they will 'last' longer but somehow I still like it best when they just look like they fit perfectly. Usually the first few dresses of the season I make do not fit her the way I wish they did, and this one is no exception. I'll have to adjust the bodice pattern again. I know what you are thinking, "Why didn't she just make a muslin first?" and you are right I probably should have done so. Hopefully I'll get the next dress to fit beautifully.

This one thankfully is easy to 'fix' with a tie that cinches in the waist a bit. I could also just take in the sides a bit but I don't think I'll be bothering with that. So the bodice it a little too big but otherwise I like the dress. I wish I could have gotten a pic of her standing in the dress but she didn't want to take pictures so after about 30 or so these were the best of the lot. The sash is satin, the dots are poplin and her petticoat is tulle with a cotton lining for comfort. The tulle peeps out a bit from under the dress. The head band was a cheap plastic one I just covered and used scraps of satin and a few beads to add the flower.

Originally the poplin dot fabric was white with purple dots however I had to get the tulle, satin and lining cotton dyed to match the dress and I didn't wash them enough apparently because they bled in the wash. I am so happy that I always toss all the fabric for a dress together in the washing machine before I sew up a dress just in case. I've had many painful experiences where the project has been ruined by fabric already sewn in that bled. I was sad that the crisp white of this poplin was lost but I didn't hate the resulting pale purple so I decided just to go with it.

Looking at it now I think it might make a great Easter dress. But maybe I'm just thinking that because she is holding a bunny in this picture.

Have you ever had a 'bleeder' in the wash that ruined your clothes? I wish they sold those dye catching pads that you can toss in the laundry to catch dyes before they ruin your stuff here in India. They would be super handy!